ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TEAM SELECTIONS

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR ALL SWIMMERS & PARENTS

Leagues, galas and selection procedure
As a club we enter three main leagues and as many B & C Galas as the calendar and invitations allow, the following leagues are important to Deepings Swimming Club

League           When swum                   Age groups
Speedo League    October, November & December   9-11,13/u,15/u, Open
Fenland League   Throughout the year           9,10,11,12,13

Where possible the selectors put up a pre selection list of those swimmers who are likely to be picked for a gala or league. From that list of swimmers the final team is chosen from the available swimmers and a final selection sheet then put up on the board with the venue and warm up time shown.

It is important that if your name appears on the pre selection sheet that you make every effort to be available for selection.

In some cases not every swimmer who has indicated that they are available will be picked, we are sorry for this but sometimes we can not physically use every available swimmer.

More importantly if you have indicated on a pre selection sheet that you are available we expect you to still be available when the final selection goes up. If in exceptional circumstances you are not available you must contact the named selector on the sheet.

In addition to the leagues and galas we also attend Open Meets which are optional. Janice Catterall organises non designated meets which are usually open to all swimmers over the age of 9 (ASA 10).

Licensed meets including the County Championships are organised by Steve Lane and are for those swimmers with pre defined qualifying times.

Notices appear on the board for both of the above types of Open Meet. Stewart Fountain will give out forms to the swimmers interested, but if you want to enter an Open meet please contact Stewart direct.

Selectors:
Linda Griffin (Fenland League)  01780 752565
Sue Reynolds (Lincs League)   01778 344653
Debbie Wray   01778 424858

SELECTION OF SWIMMERS FOR GALAS

As a Club, Deepings Swimming Club enters three Leagues and various other non league/friendly galas during the year. These galas are a Club event and as such the team is picked to represent the Club. Every swimmer picked is representing the Club whether it be swimming an individual event or as part of the relay teams.

Where possible a pre selection list is put up on the notice board to be ticked to show availability, from that list the final team is selected. It is therefore important to indicate your availability on the pre selection list. After selection a second sheet will be put up giving details of warm up and start times, venue and swimmers selected. Swimmers are asked to tick this list as an indication that you have noted that you have been selected.

A pre selection list is used for the three Leagues, Fenland League, Lincs League and Speedo. Generally for other types of gala, B and C galas, a pre selection list is not practical because the selectors only have about two weeks notice of the programme from the host club.

The criteria for selection of each type of gala varies.

B and C Friendly Galas
These are galas that the Club is invited to by other local clubs. The age groups, format and programme will vary from club to club. The selectors of Deepings Swimming Club try to use these galas to select swimmers who for whatever reason do not get picked for the Leagues that we enter on a regular basis. Please check the calendar for the dates of these galas.

Fenland League
This is a junior league which is swum against other Clubs from the Fenland Area such as Cambridge, Kings Lynn, Wisbech, Bottisham, Peterborough and March. There are several rounds of this League swum between January and September with the Final being held during October. The ages for this league are 9yrs, 10 years and under, 11 years and under, 12 years and under and 13 years and under. The 9 year olds swim in a medley and freestyle relay only with the exception that if they are 9 before the Fenland League final they can swim an individual event. The other age groups swim individual events in Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly. The distance for each stroke depends on the age group. For each age group, with the exception of the 9 years relays, there are cut off times associated with each event. If a swimmer has swum faster than the cut off time for a particular event, then they are not allowed to compete in that event again. This rule also applies to the team freestyle relay. A swimmer may swim more than one event in their age group or higher age groups so long as they have not swum faster than the cut off time.

The selection process is done by looking at the times recorded on the PB (personal best) chart and picking the swimmer whose time is closest to the cut off time. The number of swims given to a particular swimmer will depend on their stamina and where the events are in relation to one another.

Lincs League
There are two divisions to the Lincs League, a minor and a premier division. Currently (2006) we have one team in the Premier division, and no team in the minor division. The age groups are 10 years, 12 years and under, 14 years and under and Open. The 10 years and 12 years and under swim 50 metres in Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly whilst the 14 years and under and Open age groups swim 100 metres in the four events. All age groups swim two relays, one freestyle and one medley. The 10 years age group relays are 4x25m all other age groups are 4x50m. The rules for the age groups are that a swimmer may swim no more than two events in his/her own age group and one event as an open swimmer, except open swimmers who may swim three events. A swimmer may swim in an age group above but for the whole of the gala will be treated as that age. E.g a swimmer who is 11 may swim in the 14/u age group but may not swim in the 12/u age group. The other rule for the Lincs League is that if a swimmer has swum in the A team in an individual event then they may not swim in the B team in the next round. For these reasons it is important that all swimmers are available for all rounds of the Lincs League where possible.

Arena National League
This League is the premier league that we enter as a Club. We swim against the best Clubs in the Eastern Area and as such the criteria for selection is to select the fastest team possible from within each age group. The age groups are 10-11 years old, 13/u, 15/u and Open. Distances swum are 50m for the 10-11 year olds and 100m for all other age groups. The relays are all 4x50m. Each age group swims events in the four strokes plus a freestyle relay and a medley relay with the exception of the Open age group who have an individual 100m IM event. Swimmers may swim two events in their own age group plus one event in a higher age group except the open age group who may swim three events. There is no restriction on relays. To be able to select the best team for the Club it is important that all swimmers are available for selection.